WestLB, the troubled German lender, is set for a rigorous overhaul which will make redundant up to 1,500 staff and allocate â¬23bn ($33bn) worth of risky assets into a special-purpose vehicle, in order to pare back the bank's operations in anticipation of a merger.
The bank has enforced the drastic restructuring plans in order to avoid being downgraded, which could have put into jeopardy the planned merger with southern rival Helaba, according to a source close to the bank.
